Canberra woman gets $35 million Powerball shock!

After a long day of waiting and wondering, Canberrans have been let off the hook after a woman in her 40s from south Canberra came forward to claim the $35 million Powerball prize.

The happy woman was completely unaware she was the mystery multi-millionaire NSW Lotteries had been searching for when she casually wandered into Thistle Kiosk Lotto this afternoon to check her unregistered Powerball ticket.

“Wow! I’m just speechless! This is surreal!” the stunned woman exclaimed.

“I didn’t know when I walked in today to check my Powerball ticket that it was worth $35 million!

“I’ve never won anything before! I still can’t believe this is happening!

“I might tell work I’m not coming in for a year! They can cope without me! I’ll take some time to travel and holiday in Europe.”

The winning woman explained she almost didn’t purchase an entry into the draw but was encouraged by her brother.

“I don’t usually purchase an entry every week, but my brother told me that the Powerball jackpot hadn’t gone off and had reached $35 million so I should buy a ticket!” she explained.

“My brother is the regular player in the family – he religiously buys his weekly entry so he’ll be really jealous but of course I’ll give him some money as a big thank you!

“I’ll absolutely be sharing with family – I’ll pay off my mortgage but I can also pay of my mum’s mortgage and all the rest!”

The winner wishes to remain completely anonymous and requests that her confidentiality is respected and upheld as she quietly and privately starts her new life as a multi-millionaire.

Graham Barker is the owner of Thistle Kiosk Lotto and was delighted when he discovered he’d sold the incredible $35 million winning Powerball entry.

“I think I was just as excited as my customer when we realised she had the winning ticket!” Mr Barker exclaimed.

“We’ve been wondering all day if the mystery multi-millionaire was one of our customers. We’ve been flat out checking Powerball tickets today and every time we put one through the lottery terminal we held our breath wondering if this was it.

“I’m retiring after decades as an outlet owner so I feel like I’m going out with a bang!

“This is our third division one winning jackpot ticket we’ve sold in recent years. In June 2015 one of our customer’s has won the Mega Jackpot prize of more than $4.55 million and in June 2013, a 10-game QuickPick Powerball ticket purchased our outlet won a $10 million Powerball prize.